Wyckoff church raises awareness, funds for Habitat for Humanity in Paterson

Robin Franz of Oakland and Susan Litt of Wyckoff, members of the Wyckoff Reformed Church, participate in the 14th annual 8 mile walk to Paterson.

Forty people made the trek Saturday from the leafy suburban neighborhood of the Wyckoff Reformed Church to the city streets of Paterson to raise awareness and funds for Habitat for Humanity.

It was the 14th year of the walk, which has raised more than $250,000 for the housing organization over that time. The event is the largest private fundraiser for its city-based branch, said Barbara Dunn, executive director of Paterson Habitat.

“It brings home the two worlds that are within 10 minutes of each other,” Dunn said.

“Eight miles isn’t nearly as far as you think,” said the Rev. Andy Kadzban, the church’s associate pastor, his second consecutive year to be part of the walk. “You just need to keep going.”

Brothers Laurel Sparkes, 13, and Isaiah Sparkes, 12, ran most of way. They have been living in a home constructed by Paterson Habitat for the past year. Their family of six children and two parents moved from an apartment in Irvington into a nine-home subdivision on Summer Street of other Habitat houses.

Before the Sparkes moved into their new Paterson home, their basement apartment in Irvington flooded and ruined their belongings. But now the family is focused on moving forward, Laurel Sparkes said.

“We had to start from scratch,” he said.

Prospect Park resident Mary DeMona, 27, who goes to the Wyckoff church, walked the route for her first time Saturday.

DeMona said it not only was rewarding to spend more time getting to know her fellow churchgoers, but also to experience the differences between some of the most affluent communities in the state to some of the most challenged.

“I appreciate just seeing the transition,” DeMona said.
The walk was first conceived by 50-year churchgoers Hank and Norma Leonhard. The church became involved with Habitat around 28 years ago, when its founder spoke to the congregation, Norma Leonhard said.

The Leonhards coordinated the walk as a way to comply with the requirements of a $250,000 it received to help build Habitat homes. It’s obligated to raise $20,000 annually to receive the grant’s funds.

The first year, more than $42,000 was raised with 85 walkers walking 20 miles – to Paterson and back to Wyckoff, Norma Leonhard said.

She remains so close with Paterson Habitat because of the families the church has helped – she served on the family selection committee and has remained friends with many of the homeowners.

“It’s the people — the needy, deserving people in Paterson who never could have owned a home,” Norma Leonhard said.

Rev. Jim O’Connell, the church’s senior pastor, said that by completing the walk each year, he’s learned that despite the change in neighborhoods and environments, one thing remains the same – the people are friendly and open to the walkers, with some drivers offering donations to the group as they pass by.

“The neighborhoods are all different but everybody along them are basically the same,” O’Connell said.

Paterson Habitat has been building new homes and rehabilitating existing houses in the city for about 30 years, building more than 260 new homes and helping around 300 families, Dunn said. The organization expects to build eight to 10 homes this year, she added.